What I Read This Summer

I have no idea if that’s a personal best or not because this is the first summer I’ve actually tracked my reading. Some good, readerly friends (I’m looking at you, Kelsey and Laura) suggested that I get into Goodreads, and though people have mentioned it before I somehow never had the desire to track my reading. Now I’m pretty obsessed with it and my favorite part is that you can scan the barcode of your book and BOOM!, it’s ready to be shelved on one of your booklists. Though Goodreads isn’t a totally comprehensive tracking site (you can read about what it’s lacking in this great Book Riot article by Amanda Nelson), it works well if your main goal is to remember what you read.

Today I’m going to attempt to categorize the books I read this summer into three lists (can you guess my category title theme?):

All My Loving: These are my most highly rated books of the summer. I loved them and want everyone else to read them. If you tell me you’ve also read any of these books, I’ll promptly request a coffee date so we can talk about them.

I Want to Hold Your Hand: These are books I simply liked, but for some reason couldn’t include in the “loved” category. This is due to either personal preference, my current reading mood, or something about the book itself.

Hello, Goodbye: I want to stress that my reason for putting some books in the lowest category is simply personal preference. All of these are fine books written by people who are way more talented than me. However, for one reason or another I didn’t vibe with them. I’ll try to lay out why in my brief discussion of each.

All My Loving (8)

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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (finished on 8/31/16), sci-fi

Imagine waking up in a world that’s almost like yours. People know you, but your job is different. You no longer have a wife. There’s different art hanging in your apartment. Dark Matter explores regret, physics, family, and love. I’m always a sucker for alternate timelines, time travel, and the road not taken, so Dark Matter was a perfect end-of-summer read.

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (finished on 8/12/16), fantasy

The first novel in this series is in my “like” list. When I read The Queen of the Tearling I knew I was going to like the series. Somehow, though, Johansen adds a new layer of meaning and plot to the second installment, and that element put this one in the “love” category. There are really cool flashbacks to a scary world, not unlike our own. I suggest you read it to see what I’m talking about. I think this is a MUST-READ series!

As a huge fan of the television show and movie based on Thomas’s snarky girl detective, I was really psyched when I found out he’d written two sequel novels. They pick up where the movie left off. Reading these was like sitting in the comfiest chair with the warmest cup of tea. The familiarity of Veronica and her gang of crime-busters was just so nice. I think people who haven’t watched the series or the movie would like these too.

This was probably my favorite book of the summer. Every podcast I listen to recommended it and compared it to The Martian by Andy Weir. Though the stories differ completely, the way the stories are told–in a series of interviews and documents–is similar. The rich characters, smart writing, mysterious narrator, and alien technology rung all my bells. This was a fun read and I’m so happy there will be more novels in this series!

The Vacationers and Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (both finished sometime in June), adult fiction/contemporary

I fell in love with Emma Straub this summer. I stalk her instagram, envy her apartment, think her children are cute, and want to read everything by her. Her novels also have the brightest, happiest covers.

I began the summer with Modern Lovers, which is about the former members of a college band who’ve grown up and moved to a close-knit neighborhood in NYC. Since one of the band members got really famous and died young, studio executives are hounding the band’s other members to release their life rights for a movie based on their college years. We follow these adults as they grapple with their past, fight with and love each other, and try to stay together despite life tearing them apart. We also follow their very cool kids, who don’t know what to make of their parents or themselves. It’s such a nice slice-of-life novel.

The Vacationers is also about a close group of people, a family going on vacation together. It’s got great characters, a coming-of-age romance for the recently disgraced teenager, and tons of fun character interactions. It’s a beach read, I guess, but it could definitely be read in the fall as we’re all preparing to deal with our own families during the holidays!

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (finished on 8/25/16), young adult

This was my first Jacqueline Woodson novel, though I plan to read Brown Girl Dreaming sometime in the near future. Another Brooklyn is full of memory and rememory. The main character, August, looks back on her childhood in 1970s Brooklyn where she and her three friends felt more beautiful and popular than everyone else. They helped and hurt one another, listened to each other’s stories of abuse and neglect and love, and–as happens with most childhood friendships–parted ways. August remembers the girls as they were and tries to reconcile this with who they are now. It was a beautiful and short read and I would love to share this with my students at some point.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (12)

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee (finished sometime in June), literary fiction

An opera singer with a secret history finds out that someone has written an opera about her life. Whodunit? Her former lover? friend? mentor? other lover? I loved the rich storytelling by Chee here as well as the engrossing tale of Lilliet Berne’s ever-changing life. It reminded me of a Dickens novel in a way, which is a great thing in my book.

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (finished on 7/6/16), contemporary

This book popped up on a lot of “summer must-reads” lists and I’m really glad I read it. If you are interested in food and wine, the restaurant industry, New York City, the coming-of-age of a young girl, or just fun, slice-of-life storytelling, you’ll like this one too.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (finished on 7/12/16), young adult

Red Queen reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games or Divergent series. Its main character is a young girl who finds out she’s special somehow. When she publicly displays a strange and terrible power, she is made to masquerade as an upper-class silver and be betrothed to one of the princes. I really liked this YA novel and plan to read the others in the series at some point.

Toni Morrison can do no wrong in my book. This is her first novel and it is about a young black girl who believes she’s ugly. After abuse and ridicule, she wishes God would give her blue eyes. Morrison’s meditation on beauty, rejection, and abuse is fascinating, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. I could read her prose all day long. The reason this isn’t in the highest-ranking category is simply because it made me want to cry bitter tears several times. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I have to say I would only recommend this to people who are emotionally ready for it.

The Girls by Emma Cline (finished on 7/17/16), literary fiction

Based on the story of the Manson family, Cline’s novel meditates on all types of girls: cool, dangerous, neglected, needy, beautiful, taken-advantage-of, etc. She also shows how easy it is to become enamored by yourself or another person. The main character spends time not only recapping her own involvement with the murderous cult, but also meditating on the reason she didn’t participate in the horrendous acts in which they engaged. She asks herself if she was lucky or different than the rest of the girls in the cult. She asks herself how she can be better now, later in life. I really loved The Girls and would recommend it to people who love true crime (even though this is fictional).

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner (finished on 7/20/16), mystery

This was a great little mystery. I received it as part of my Book of the Month subscription and chose it because the lead character was described as a “smart, lonely, bitingly funny detective with Scotland Yard.” How could I resist? This mystery, about a young girl who goes missing after a wild night, had me guessing until the resolution.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne (finished on 7/31/16), drama

I’m definitely a Potter Head, so when I heard there was a play coming out set ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts I knew I would need it the moment it was released. My brother and sister-in-law purchased a voucher so I could go to the midnight release party at Books-a-Million, and the whole experience of getting the book at midnight with tons of other fans transported me back to my college and graduate school days when the last few books came out. I had a few problems with the play: it was…a play, and therefore too short for my taste. A couple of the characters made decisions that felt off-canon. Some major characters I loved didn’t show up at all. However, I generally liked it because I got to visit my favorite characters again and see how their children turned out. Sure, I would have liked to see Luna Lovegood and Teddy Lupin, but what Rowling, Tiffany, and Thorne came up with was, overall, satisfying.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (finished on 8/9/16), fantasy

As stated above, I loved the second novel in this series. Nothing to sneeze at, the first installment is thrilling as well. These books take place in a kingdom of people who were disenchanted with what America had become during the twenty-first century. They, led by a man named William Tearling, sailed to unpeopled land and left technology behind. The Tearling, one of the four or five provinces that make up the larger kingdom, has been without a queen for years. The story begins with a girl named Kelsea who has lived deep in the woods with her godparents for eighteen years, preparing for the day she would be taken to the Tearling to claim the throne. Along the way she has to dodge multiple assassination attempts, confront her mother’s problematic legacy, and battle it out with the dangerous Red Queen.

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (finished on 8/15/16), young adult / mystery

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s descendants meet at boarding school in this YA detective story. Charlotte Holmes has been raised from birth to deduce and solve crimes. After Jamie Watson shows up at her boarding school, someone starts committing crimes in the fashion of the Sherlock Holmes stories and the whole campus suspects that these teens are behind them. Smart, funny, and addictive, this story left me wanting more of Charlotte and Jamie! If you like teen detectives, the Sherlock Holmes stories, or young adult lit in general, this one is for you.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (finished on 8/17/16), mystery

I’m starting to realize I read a lot of mysteries this summer. The Woman in Cabin 10 was another Book of the Month Club pick, and I chose it because I love mysteries that take place in close quarters. This one is set on a small luxury cruise ship. A woman goes missing and our protagonist is the only traveler on board who saw her before she died. This was an exhilarating read, for sure.

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer (finished on 8/19/16), memoir

I came for the comedy and stayed for the stories of survival. Amy Schumer talks about her difficult relationship with her mother, he father’s multiple sclerosis, and an abusive, almost fatal previous relationship. It was also hilarious, as is on-brand for Schumer, and I came away with a new respect for the comedian.

Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton (finished on 8/22/16), nonfiction / religious

Adam Hamilton’s views on the Bible were seen as very controversial when this book came out. I, for one, found a lot of hope and comfort in this book. I’ve recommended it to several friends and plan to read more of Hamilton’s work!

Hello, Goodbye (3)

Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughn (finished on 7/29/16), comics

Ok, the deal on this one is I was NOT in the mood for it. I don’t think it’s totally the book’s fault. The story-line is great: an inter-species couple is on the run from bounty hunters in space. The elements I didn’t like, however, were just too glaring for me to ignore. I just don’t think I can enjoy a book with rampant (gratuitous?) prostitution that’s mainly seen/told from the male perspective. If there are prostitutes, I want to hear from them, not just witness their exploitation. I also think I’m done with books that include pedophilia…I just don’t need to read about that anymore. I get it…authors use it to show how bad and depraved characters or worlds are…but I’m over it. Roxane Gay reviewed it on Goodreads shortly before I read it and her words sum it up best: “Compelling characters and world building. Sometimes the dialogue is just…off and offensive and not in a charming way.”

One For the Money by Janet Evanovich (finished on 7/30/16), mystery

I really wanted to find a series to read this summer. This one was not for me. I’m sure it gets better as it goes, but I couldn’t get over how much I despised the main character, Stephanie Plum. She has no business being a bounty hunter (which I get is the point…but it just bothered me). The novel is supposed to be about her ineptitude, but I kept thinking she was going to get a bit smarter. I picked up the second novel to see if there was some progression and it looked like she was just as ditsy as before. Again, this is just me. I know people who love this series and I totally understand why. It just wasn’t my jam.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (finished on 8/5/16), mystery

After I abandoned the Evanovich series I decided to try this female-centered detective series. There were certainly things I liked about it: it’s set in a very cool futuristic Earth, the main character was smart, the mystery was…mysterious. There was just something about the love scenes (and this is a good place to note that J.D. Robb is a pen name for Nora Roberts) that struck me as strange. I’ve never read a Nora Roberts book, and though I’m certain she’s a great romance writer–her sales speak for themselves–the scenes in this book reminded me a lot of 50 Shades of Grey. This was, of course, written before the publication of that book, but since I read Shades a few years ago I don’t want to go near anything else that reminds me of it. I think the power dynamics between the two romantic leads here (rich, powerful man and mousy girl) reminded me too much of that book. Maybe the rest of the books are great, and I’m not saying I’ll never pick another one up…I just have to put it in the lowest category as it was one of my least favorites of the summer.

Have you read any of these?

Do you have any suggestions for me based on anything you’ve read here?

Leave it in the comments!

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4 Comments

I read The Bluest Eye and I also wanted to cry several times throughout it. It was heartbreaking but sooooo good. You inspired me to read more this summer and I read close to 15 books and now I’m going to have to check out this Goodreads because I can hardly remember everything that I’ve read lately. Also, I’m going to have to go buy these books you loved because they all sound SO good!

Ah, I know…ToMo gets me every time! The Bluest Eye was so great. Also, Alex you need to red Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad since you liked Beloved so much! I’m so glad we can be friends on Goodreads!